Another Point of View
by rapunzelstiltskin
Summary: Someone likes 'Ping'...but who is it? Is it Chi Fu? Is it Ling? Is it Shang? Or is it someother dude...? Basically i just got sick of the same old stories again and again. No offense to the othe ppl out there! REVIEW! !
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Mulan, unfortunately, is not mine. The actual poem was written many years ago and then Disney had the idea to make it into a movie. In other words, i'm out of luck._

Ping uneasily made his way through camp. Ling, Yao and Chien-Po were still angry with him. At any moment, they could burst out of the shadows and beat him up.

At that moment, only one pair of eyes was watching him. Ling, the tall, scrawny soldier that was more strategic (and egotistic!) than the other two was watching. As soon as Ping got in front of Ling's tent…BAM! He would think the sky had fallen on his head. 10 feet…9 feet…

"Your unsuited for

The rage of war…"

Oh gods, it was Captain Li Shang, breaking out into song again. He had been doing it a lot. Ling did it occasionally too, but it was a bit much to do it while they were training. Keeping your morale up; yes, but when you were trying to aim a cannon the right way, it was a bit annoying. Anyway, it looked like Ping was about to be let go. Yep, there it was:

"So pack up

Go home

You're through…"

Short, but sweet. Shang went off, presumably to his tent for the night. Ping's face fell, looking completely and utterly depressed. Ling felt sorry for him, then he remembered all the stupid, annoying things the boy did, and that first night. Picking up every single grain of rice in the camp was not fun, and they had still had had to report early for training the next morning. All sympathy for the young soldier faded.

What was Ping doing now? Ah, looking at the arrow at the top of the pole. Ha, he'd never be able to get it. Even Chien-Po and Yao hadn't been able to. Look, he was tying the weights onto his hands. Climbing…and falling. He tried this several times. Then, he started changing how he climbed, little by little. Ling started to admire Ping's determination.

Finally, just before dawn, Ping tangled the weights together and started using "Strength and Honor" to _help_, not hinder, his way up. It was fascinating to watch, slide and pull, and slide and pull, over and over again. People started coming out of their tents to meet the new day and were greeted with the sight of Ping, slim and sweating, doing what none of them had managed to do. As Shang emerged from his tent, Ping threw the arrow at his commanding officer's feet. The dawn light caught him, a slim, small figure, quite feminine, with dark, shiny hair and deep brown, intelligent eyes. Ping looked almost…pretty. Ling shook his head. No, he couldn't think of a comrade like that, a _man_. He blinked, smiled and continued cheering with his friends.

**Soooo... what did you think? I know it's not the best, but im quite proud of it. Any suggestions will be wecome. Reviewing is good! Until next time, i remain...Rapunzelstiltskin !! (its a bunny)**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: not mine_

**Right. just so u know, my chapters are kind of short. there is no real reason for this, just that that's how it always seems to happen. Also, thanks to my fantabulous reviewers. i love u all.**

Great, after a hard day's work, it was wonderful to have a swim. Ling and his friends ran towards the lake, yelling. Yao and Ling jumped in, with Chien-Po not far behind, sending up a big wave. While cruising on the waves momentum, he caught a glimpse of someone's legs. Yao spotted the owner.

"Hey! Ping!" he called.

"Oh, hi guys! I didn't know you were here!" Ping replied nervously. The three friends looked at each other, confused. They had made a lot of noise coming in, and the huge splash caused by Chien-Po was kind of noticeable. "Well, I was just here to wash so now I'm clean and I'm going to go." He mumbled quickly, turning to go.

"Hey, I know we were jerks before, so why don't we…start over?" Ling asked, swimming over. "Hi, I'm Ling." Oh my god, he thought_. Did I just leer? O god, I did!_

"Hello Ling," Ping replied uneasily. _Oh no! He must have noticed my leering!_ Ling thought frantically, trying desperately not to leer anymore. Ping backed into Chien-Po.

"And I'm Chien-Po," said the gentle giant.

"Hello Chien-Po," Ping stuttered, clearly uneasy about something.

"And I'm YAO, king of the rock!" Yao said loudly. "And there's nothing you girls can do about it." he added teasingly. Ping seemed really freaked out now, looking away from Yao's naked body. OK, so it wasn't the prettiest sight out there, but it was nothing to really be afraid of. Maybe Ping felt a little…inadequate? After all, he couldn't be more than 16, just three years younger than Ling.

"Oh yeah? I bet Ping and I could take you." Ling retorted, going into his best kung-fu pose.

"I don't really want to take him anywhere." Ping said. Was it Ling's imagination, or did Ping sound more girly than usual?

"But Ping! We have to fight!" Ling was shocked. No man backed away from a fight! Especially one so trivially important as this. Being called a girl! That was the ultimate insult, besides, of course, anything mother related.

"No. We don't." Ping said firmly. "We could just close our eyes…and swim around." As if to prove it, he began splashing the water around him.

"But…ouch!" Something swam up under Ling and bit his behind, just as he reached for Ping's arm. He jumped, clutching the bite. A little red serpent thing popped up next to Ping, who really looked quite girly with his hair down, and appeared to speak. "Ah! Snake! Snake!" Ling shrieked, swimming as fast as possible to escape the fearsome red serpent. Ping whistled, and his horse, Khan, came trotting down to the waters edge to meet him. Through trying to clamber up on to Chien-Po, he noticed that Ping had quite fabulous legs. _No, bad thoughts! Bad thoughts! _Ling thought furiously. _Thinking about your fellow soldiers like that, it's not good! It's like thinking about Yao that way! Ew! _"Some king of the rock." Ling muttered, and then shrieked when Yao shoved him off into the water.

When the rest of the guys came splashing into the water, yelling and talking, and Ling was sure there were no more snakes to bite his butt, he cautiously slipped into the water again. Chin-Fu had decided to join them for a moonlit bath, acting all pompous. Yao grabbed the self-important advisor's ankle, causing him to shriek. Ling thought Ping sounded girly? It was nothing compared to the sound that Chin-Fu made! Very high, like metal scraping together.

"Haha! Chin-Fu screams like a girl!" he yelled. Chien-Po laughed, sending up great splashes of water that soaked the old advisor's slippers and towel.

"You men owe me a new pair of slippers!" he cried. "And I do not scream like a girl-EEEEK!" he screamed like a girl. Ling looked over to see what it was that had made the man scream like that, but only saw a dark shadow. Thinking no more of it, he and his friends started a water fight with some of the other men in the camp.

**Like it? Hate it? Have passionate feelings on the subject of slippers? if so, then REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: It does not belong to me, much to my sadness_

Ling ran into his tent, quickly gathering up all of I belongings into a pack. The General needed their help! This was indeed important! As soon as the men had returned from their nighttime swim, they had all been summoned onto the parade grounds, where they had been told that "training was over, now the real work begins" (here Ling had struggled not to say that Shang had told them that the 'real work' had begun 6 weeks ago).

After he was finished packing, he had about ten minutes of free time. He always was a quick packer, and he didn't have may belongings to start with. He sat and thought. Strangely enough, his thoughts kept returning to Ping. Ping, bruised and injured after a fight; Ping, shining with pride and sweat atop of the pole; Ping, wet with lake water, long hair plastered to his neck and shoulders. Ah, screw it, Ling liked Ping. And in a slightly more than friendly way. At least, Ling mused, out of all the men there, he liked the most feminine of the bunch.

Ling knew, of course, that to like boys was not good, and would get him discharged from the army, bringing shame down on his family for generations, but he couldn't help it. He was greatly attracted to the little soldier. He heard Shang calling them out onto the parade grounds, ordering them to march to the Tung-Shao Pass. NOW. Everybody moved.

Ling could see that his comrades were weary from the long march, their heavy armour weighing on them. Time to bring in his tried-and-true way of cheering them up: Singing About Women. He started with the customary introduction, then went straight into his 'ideal women'. This time though, his heart wasn't in it. He kept shooting glances at Ping to see what he thought of the song. To his surprise (and happiness) Ping looked more than a little uncomfortable. What did that mean? Did he-no, that would be to much to hope for. Besides, he would probably like Captain Shang if he did fancy men anyway. Sighing, he tuned back in to what the men were saying. Oh look, a nice river to carry their gear across. Joy. Yao fake-leered at Ping, making Ling seethe internally. God, what the hell did Yao think he was doing, hitting on Ping! Calm down Ling, calm down. Besides, he's obviously joking. Besides, it's not like Ping is _yours_ or anything. You don't even know if he likes men! Hell, _you _didn't like men till a couple of days ago! Calmed down a bit, he returned to the song.

When it came to Ping's part of the song, Ling made sure to listen extra carefully. What would the little man say?

"How bout a girl

Who's got a brain

And always

Speaks her mind…?"

Yao and Chien-Po thought about it for a second before dismissing it completely. Ling, however, was intrigued. That sort of thing was hardly lady-like. Maybe there was a chance. The song continued on until they got to the village. The army stopped, horrified at the sight in front of their eyes.

The entire village was burnt to the ground. The little huts that used to sit there were now skeletons of char. There wasn't a soul alive. Their captain also was appalled. His father was supposed to have been there, Ling knew. Why hadn't he been able to stop it? Or, at the very least, be there to greet them? The men swiftly moved into the village to search for survivors. There were more important things than dwelling on pretty young men. There may be someone who could tell them what had happened, or, even better, a Hun soldier. When searching a house, Ling saw Shang speaking to Ping. His eyes flashed for a second, before telling himself that it was perfectly normal for a captain to talk to his soldier without having other intentions. Goodness, he really _was _getting grabby wasn't he? He would have to stop that. Suddenly, he saw Chien-Po come over the hill, the General's helmet cradled in his large arms. Shang's eyes widened with alarm. Ling rushed to the crest of the hill, and he felt his heart fall. Every one of the Imperial regiment was dead. There were some Hun bodies, but not nearly as many as Chinese ones. He turned and went back to the cannons, knowing that they had to move on, to get to the Imperial city before the Huns did. They could save their Emperor and their country if they moved quickly. Looking back to see where Ping was, he saw him with Shang again, they seemed to be conducting an almost funeral type thing. Shang rested his father's helmet on the General's sword. As he brushed past Ping, the young soldier put something at the base of the marker, and turned back to the rest of the regiment. Looking closer with his sharp eyes, Ling saw that it was a doll, like a young girl might have. Touched by the boy's action, he followed his captain and comrades to the Imperial City to defeat the Huns.

**Hehe. Sorry it took so long. I thought that i would have had it up MUCH earlier than this, but actually, i haven't seen the movie since my last chapter, and only just saw it today. So, here it is, chapter 3 of my lovely story. Ling gets a bit more sappy and grabby, in case you haven't noticed, but i'm gonna try to see if i can make him stop it. Anyway, Review if you love me! **


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Ah, if Mulan belonged to me...amazing things would happen. Specifically, nothing would get done, as my updating habits suck. Luckily, its not mine, but Disney's. _

A cannon shot into the sky. The soldiers turned around, knowing who had control of the cannons: Ping. Ling shook his head as Shang yelled at Ping. Unfortunately, as he got to the part about giving away their position, it was too late, and he was shot through the arm. Ling winced, this was not good. The regiment dived for cover behind some not very cover-worthy rocks. They watched in fear as the smoke cleared and the saw the whole of the Mongol army. It was an awe-inspiring sight, the many thousands of the dirty men on their horses, waiting for their leader to give the signal, so that they might destroy the Chinese army. Ling was quaking in his boots. Suddenly, Ping grabbed the last cannon and started running _towards_ the Mongol army. Had he gone mad! This was complete suicide! Shang ran after the young man, and Ling was still in shock. Bad thing to be in on a battle-field. Uh-oh, it seemed that Ping had lost his flint and steel, the falcon had made sure of that, Ling went into even more shock. No wait, Ping must have found it, because there was the cannon, soaring past Shan-Yu, into the mountain. Yao roused the men, screaming in their ears to go save Ping, which Captain Shang had done a few seconds ago. Ling fell out of his shock and ran forwards, screaming at the Mongols. Unfortunately, at that moment, the cannon (which, as said before, had completely missed Shan-Yu) hit the mountain, causing an avalanche. It was then that Ling understood Ping's angle: hit the mountain, cause an avalanche, bury the Mongol army, run like hell. Not the brightest idea, but still a good one. He turned around, yelling in fear. Yes, he liked Ping, but the boy could take care of himself, couldn't he? What about Ling? He needed to save himself! Uh oh, there was Ping, saving Captain Shang. Damn, now Ling felt ashamed of himself. There he was, saving himself, when Ping, who was probably several years younger than himself, was saving their captain. Sadly, he couldn't see much more, as the many tons of snow were blocking his view. No, wait, there was Ping and the captain! They would be going over the edge in a couple of minutes or so…wait! He had to get help! Quickly, he told Chien-Po and Yao what was happening and they hastily put together a plan. Chien-Po would hold the two on his shoulders, while Yao, being the most accurate shot, would aim at the horse so that the three might pull their friends and captain to safety. They would be heroes! Alas, their plan didn't work, as Yao, while the best shot, had reflexes akin to a three-toed sloth. Not that they had heard of a sloth, as they are not found in China.

"Great! Now I'll pull them to safe…ty…" Yao said in his gravelly voice.

"What? What was that 'safe…ty' thing?" Ling yelled up.

"I'm sorry Ling! The rope went right through my hands." The three stood back on the ground instead of each others shoulders. "I let them slip right through my fingers." the shorter man sniffed, right as the arrow shot back into his hand, jerking him off his balance. Ling brightened. Ping! He must have shot it when he fell off the cliff! Ling made a dive for Yao, who at the moment was the trying to pull a horse and two men up an overhang. Unfortunately, even two men weren't strong enough, so the two were being dragged down until several other men and Chien-Po grabbed them and slowly but surely, saved them all. When Ping and Captain Shang sat panting on the snow, Shang said something to Ping that Ling wouldn't forget for a long time.

"Ping! You are the craziest man I have ever met!" Here Ling glared at Shang. Yes, it was true, but did he need to point it out in front of everybody? But Shang wasn't done. "And for that, I owe you my life. You have my trust." Here Ping smiled weakly, and Ling wasn't sure how to feel. Yes, Shang had made Ping happy, but was he hitting on the boy too? _Hmm…must think into that more_, he thought. He then noticed that there was a dark stain spreading all over Ping's midsection. Blood. As someone ran for the doctor, Ling, Yao, Chien-Po and Shang, the three men most concerned about Ping, for different reasons, watched concernedly as Ping lost consciousness.

**Yay! Another chapter! Next is the Ultimate Chapter of TRUTH! you know, where Ling (and everybody else) finds out about Ping not being 'Ping' after all! my second favorite bit! The first being where they all get up in drag. Anyway, did you like how there was less grabbiness in it? I did, next chapter will probably be a bit more emotional, although im not sure...ya. Anyway, REVIEWS are always appreciated! **


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Mulan does not belong to me. Ling doesn't either. Disney has snatched them away! Woe!_

Ling waited anxiously outside the hospital tent. If Ping died…well, he wouldn't think about that, but it would probably involve getting very depressed and possibly get him fired from the army. Which would be very, _very _dishonorable. But, seeing as he already fancied the boy, it would be difficult to be more dishonorable. He straightened up as the doctor appeared, leaning over to talk to Captain Shang. At the doctor's last words, he saw Shang's eyes widen and his back stiffen, before he strode into the tent. _What could have happened?_ Ling wondered _Has…has Ping died?_ He distracted himself from this terrible thought by watching Chi-Fu, who the doctor had just finished speaking to, run undignified-ly to the tent.

"So it's true!" Ling heard Chi-Fu cry. The advisor dragged the still wounded Ping out of the tent, to Ling's horror. The man was wounded! Have a little care! Ling felt Chien-Po start next to him. _Good old Chien-Po, he's so good with the wounded, he should be a doctor,_ Ling thought warmly, and then the most startling thing he had ever seen happened.

Chi-Fu ripped out Ping's top-knot.

"A woman!" he cried. "Treacherous snake!" Ling went into shock. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently.

"My name is Mulan," Ping said. Wait, not 'Ping', 'Mulan'. _Mulan_ Ling thought _What a pretty name, like wind whispering through a waterfall_ "I did it to save my father. Please, you must believe me" Ling believed her. He knew the girl pretty well and thought of her as a very caring person. Besides, what girl was stupid enough to just randomly join the army in her fathers place? The consequences of a woman in the Chinese army had not yet struck him. At the moment, his horny male mind was still thinking _Heehee! From this angle she looks topless! Heehee_

"High treason!" Chi-Fu shrieked. He was furious that a woman had sneaked into the army, and apparently even more furious that Shang hadn't killed her right then and there in the hospital tent. "Ultimate dishonor!" The seriousness of the situation were starting to creep up on Ling. Woman. Army. Treason. Dishonor. No! He knew now what would happen. Shang would be forced to kill-to _murder _Mulan! Ling's eyes widened and his heart fell. This lovely girl, who had saved their lives, indeed, saved all of China, would be killed like she was some cow at the slaughter.

"Please, it was the only way…" Mulan leaned down even farther into the snow, a thread-bare blanket the only thing keeping her slim frame warm in the freezing mountain wind. It was quite a pitiful sight, and Ling saw Captain Shang's eyes soften. Maybe there was hope then. No, but the Captain knew the law even better than he did. A girl in the army was high treason, and treason was repaid with death. Uh-oh, Shang was heading over to Mulan's horse. Ling didn't think that was a good sign. At least he wasn't drawing-oh, wait, he drew Mulan's sword. Correction: her _fathers _sword. Oh dear. Mulan tilted her head down, accepting that she would have to die. She had said that she had never meant it to go this far, but how far _had_ she meant it to go? No time to think about that, Shang was stalking towards her, sword glinting menacingly in the cold mountain light.

"No!" he, Chien-Po and Yao rushed forwards, horrified that she would be killed. While the latter two did not harbor romantic feelings towards Mulan, they were just as fond of her as Ling was-just in a different way. Chi-Fu put up an arm to stop them.

"You know the law," he smirked cruelly. They did, and watched sadly as Captain Shang raised up the sword over Mulan's pretty, sad head…and dropped it into the snow in front of her. She looked up, startled and Ling sighed, relieved.

"A life for a life, my debt is repaid." Shang whispered miserably. He swung himself onto his horse. "Move out!" Yao smiled and nudged Ling.

"See? The captain wouldn't kill her." he muttered good naturedly. "Say, isn't it odd to think of Ping as a girl? Oh gods, she saw us _naked!_" the thought just seemed to have crossed his mind, and he seemed to be a little mentally disturbed at the though.

"But, captain!" Chi-Fu interjected. But Shang had had enough. He grabbed the wrinkled advisor by the shirt-front.

"I said, Move Out" he growled. Slowly, Ling, Chien-Po and Yao gathered their stuff from the tiny makeshift camp they had set up and got on their horses. They were riding off when a thought struck Ling. Shang was going to leave Mulan to die! She had nothing but her pack, and that was nothing. There was only a small ration of food, and no wood. 'The captain wouldn't kill her' psh, yeah right. That was precisely what he was doing. As the troops moved out, Ling looked over his shoulder at the tiny form of Mulan, shivering in the cold. As they marched into the Imperial City, they all felt a lot more dejected than when they had started off.

**Yay! I _finally_ got another chapter done! I am very special, no? So ya, this was The Ultimate Chapter of TRUTH! I think it's a bit jumbly, with things smashed in every which way, but i rather like it. I will try to update a little quicker next time. Tell me what you think, pweez? Reviews are precious to us! **


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Mulan does not belong to me. Ling doesn't either. Disney has snatched them away! Woe!_

Well, Chi-Fu had let all of China know what had happened in the mountain pass-omitting the part where a girl had infiltrated the army and saved their lives. That would bring about a lot of uncomfortable questioning and other things that Chi-Fu was rather keen to avoid. The whole regiment was rather down, they had all liked Pi-Mulan, and anyways, she had saved their lives, and she had been repaid by being left in the snow on top of a mountain to die. Life was really unfair, the law was unfair too. Before, Ling had thought it was a good law: Men do the fighting, and women stay in the home and tend to the rice paddies. Now that he had seen what Mulan could do though, he thought that an army of women could wreak havoc on the world. Perhaps that was why they were kept to them home, because the Emperor (may he live forever) knew what could happen if women ran the country. Ling looked gloomily at the cheering crowds. How he would have loved this, sucked it up shamefully, if only Mulan was here to celebrate with them.

"Make way for the heroes of China!" an announcer declared. The heroes of China, humph. A well placed cannon and they were the heroes of China? They weren't even the ones who thought of the idea! Ling paused and considered the last moments of conversation he had had with himself. He was _bitter _wasn't he. He really would have to-

"Shang!" Could it really be…?

"Mulan?" Shang stared at her. Ling, Yao and Chien-Po brightened. She was here!

"Shang! The Huns are here, in the city. I saw them." Captain Shang frowned, clearly disconcerted by the curious stares of the crowd.

"You don't belong here Mulan." Shang's voice was steely. Mulan's face fell, and Ling wanted to kill Shang. Mulan loved Shang, any moron could see that, and here the captain was spurning her! If it was him…but it wasn't. It wouldn't be, the way Mulan looked at the captain. He sighed, then realized he had missed part of the conversation. Captain Shang had pushed past her and she was looking after him, hurt and angry. Glaring, she reigned in Khan and troted over to the three.

"Keep your eyes open. I know they're here." she instructed them. Wide-eyed, they nodded. Ling knew that he would keep an eye out for the Huns, he would do anything for her. He knew it was sad, and a love doomed to be unrequited, but he didn't care at that moment. All that mattered was that she had spoken to him.

And was it just him, or did the dragon seem to smell like war?

**mwahahahaaaa! another update! whoo! Ling gets bitter, although that might be coming from me. We watched Mulan in Spanish class today, although the movie was in English o.O so i figured 'hey! a great chance to update the never ending story of _Another Point of View! _Reviews? Reviews? luv u all my reviewers! **


End file.
